Jack Parnell
John Russell "Jack" Parnell (born August 6, 1923 in London , † August 8, 2010 in Southwold , Suffolk ) was a British band leader , composer and jazz musician .
Live and act
Parnell, who comes from a theater family, initially received piano lessons from the age of five; he also had drum lessons for a year. He graduated from Brighton and Hove Grammar School . In 1939 he made his first public appearance in Scarborough . Then he played dance music in Cambridge before doing his military service in the Royal Air Force . There he was a member of the quintet of Buddy Featherstonhaugh in High Wycombe . During his military service he also met Vic Lewis , with whom he directed the "Vic Lewis / Jack Parnell Jazzmen". From 1944 to 1955 he was a member of Ted Heath's band . Then he founded a big band, which he increased to 16 people in 1955.
In 1956 he became musical director of the television program ATV ; he held this post until 1981. There he directed the orchestra of the Muppet Show , for example . During the 1970s he founded the group "The Best of British Jazz" with Don Lusher , Kenny Baker , Tony Lee , Betty Smith and Tony Archer , which existed until 1985. In 1983 Parnell moved to Southwold , Suffolk , where he was active as a musician to the end.
Prizes and awards
During the 1940s and 1950s, he was named Best Drummer by Melody Maker for seven consecutive years. He later composed for television; he received the Harriet Cohen Award for his music for Love Story . In 1973 he was the British musician who received a Grammy for a show with Barbra Streisand that was created for ATV.
Lexigraphic entries
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
Web links
- Louis Barfe on Jack Parnell
- Line-ups of the Jack Parnell Orchestra from 1951 to 1958
- Jack Parnell in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/7934695/Muppet-Show-conductor-Jack-Parnell-dies.html
- ↑ The Best of British Jazz ( Memento of the original from July 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . The group released the albums The Best of British Jazz and The Very Best of British Jazz .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Parnell, Jack |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Parnell, John Russell |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 6, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London , UK |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 8, 2010 |
| Place of death | Southwold , UK |